JOHN MARTIN, ENID, OK

Mr. Martin is a published author, frequent lecturer, and recognized authority on employee benefits issues. He is currently Treasurer and an executive committee member of Oklahoma Humanities Council, immediate past president of Sons & Daughters of the Cherokee Strip Association. He is a past president of Oklahoma Independent Insurance Agents as well as a past Chairman of the Enid Public Transportation Authority, Phillips University Board of Governors and the Enid Higher Education Program. John serves as an officer in many other boards and committees throughout the area including Leadership Oklahoma.

John earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Phillips University. He served in the United States Navy in Vietnam before he was honorably discharged. Mr. Martin earned his Masters in Education in May 2007 at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, and is a life member of the Northwestern Alumni Association.

DR. JANET CUNNINGHAM, ALVA, OK

Dr. Janet Cunningham began serving as the 19th president of Northwestern Oklahoma State University on July 1, 2006 following her appointment by the Board of Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma.

Cunningham becomes just the second alumnus and first woman to become president of the institution.

She joined the faculty at Northwestern in 1979 and continued teaching until 1985, when she became an instructor at the University of Oklahoma while her husband attended law school there. She returned to teaching at Northwestern in 1988.

Cunningham earned a doctorate in education from Oklahoma State University and has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from

Northwestern. She also has completed professional education at the Institute of Educational Management at Harvard University and through the College Business Management Institute at the University of Kentucky. In 2001, she became a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma.

A leader in civic affairs, Cunningham serves on the executive committee of the Alva Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Woods County Economic Development Association. She also has served in numerous volunteer capacities with organizations connected to the Alva Public Schools.
Cunningham and her husband, Rick, a local attorney, have four children: sons Brett, Tanner and Drew, and a daughter Allison.

TOM EVANS, CHEROKEE, OK

Mr. Tom Evans earned a degree from Northwestern in business administration after graduating from Cherokee High School in 1979. As the president of both Encompass Financial Inc. and Evans Stands, Inc., he is a certified general appraiser, a real estate broker, and an independent insurance agent.

Mr. Evans is active in his community, serving on the Cherokee Volunteer Fire Department and is a Rotarian. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Cherokee where he teaches Sunday School and is a board member of the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma

BARTLETT A. BOUSE, WOODWARD, OK

Bartlett A. Bouse received a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1990. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University Of Oklahoma College Of Law in July of 1993. Before long, Bart received a job as a research assistant and was later promoted to Assistant District Attorney in Woodward, OK. Mr. Bouse has been in private practice since 1999. He is a member the American Bar Association and the Oklahoma Bar Association and is also active in children’s service activities such as Western Plains Youth and Family Services and the Woodward United Fund.

HELEN THEISING, ALVA, OK

Helen Theising was a co-owner of Tri-K Equipment and served as the secretary and treasurer for over forty years until she retired in 2006. She was the Chairman of the NWOSU Scholarship Drive in 1977 and has worked on the annual drive every year. Helen is a Trustee of the Share Medical Center Foundation and is a member of the Presidential Partners of NWOSU. She is a very active member in the Lutheran Church in Alva.

Helen’s late husband, Kenneth, also served many years on the Foundation Executive Committee. They have two children, Kevin and Kelly, and three grandchildren, Kassandra, Kaylee, and April.

MR. DONOVAN REICHENBERGER, ALVA, OK

A veteran of WWII and the Korean War, Mr. Reichenberger joined the Northwestern faculty in 1967. After a career in the U. S. Navy, he earned his bachelor’s from Northwestern in 1966 and a master’s from Wichita State in 1967.

Mr. Reichenberger is a member of the Tyler Trust Board. He has also served on the Share Medical Center Board of Trustees, Alva Centennial Commission and as chairman and member of various Northwestern faculty committees.

STEPHEN E. STANDS, EDMOND, OK

Stephen E. Stands was raised in Alva, Oklahoma and graduated from Alva High School in 1972. In 1976, he graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and minors in Economics and Geography. He spent eighteen years of his career with Panhandle Eastern Corporation. Since January 2008, he has been Director, Energy Trading for OGE Energy Resources. He now resides in Edmond, OK, where he is an active member of Life Church and the Edmond community. He is also involved with the Natural Gas and Energy Association of Oklahoma and the National Energy Services Association.

BECKY McCRAY, ALVA, OK

Becky McCray is an entrepreneur from Alva, where she and her husband Joe co-own a retail store and a cattle ranch. She writes a daily website for small business owners and publishes several other online news media projects. She is the youngest past state president of Oklahoma Business and Professional Women. A fourth-generation graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Mrs. McCray is currently president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

ALLEN E. BIRD, ALVA, OK

Allen (Skeeter) Bird is a 1985 Northwestern graduate with a degree in History. He received his master’s of Public Administration in 1998 from the University of Anchorage.

Upon graduation from Northwestern, Mr. Bird signed on with the Army and remained in active service until 1998. In that year he became a full time member of the Army National Guard and was stationed in Alaska until 2005.

During his military career as an Army aviator he served in various positions which included: Platoon Leader, Company Commander, Financial Manager, and Battalion Commander. In July of 2005, after attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Skeeter retired from the Army National Guard and assumed responsibilities as the Executive Director for the Foundation.